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SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY - MANIFESTO 2015
But there is much more we can achieve and SNP MPs in
the House of Commons will work with SNP ministers in
the Scottish Government to ensure that we continue to
make progress as a society and economy, across all three
of the Scottish Government’s priority areas:
Creating more, better paid jobs in a strong,
sustainable economy
Our ambition is for a stronger Scottish economy, with the
fruits of economic success shared more widely. We have
set out our plans to deliver higher levels of sustainable
economic growth through the Scottish Government’s
refreshed Economic Strategy. This includes proposals to
boost Scotland’s competitiveness, reduce levels of
inequality and increase productivity.
Our aim is to match the productivity levels of the most
successful economies in Europe. We also want Scotland
to be in the top quarter of OECD countries in terms of
wellbeing, sustainability and equality. This includes
narrowing the economic gap between the different
regions of Scotland.
We are focused on four key themes – Investment,
Innovation, Inclusive Growth and Internationalisation.
We know that building a high-skill, connected Scotland is
essential if we are to maximise our nation’s economic
potential. That is why we are investing in our people,
infrastructure and assets, for example, by working to
widen access to higher education.
New skills provide a route into rewarding, fulfilling
employment. Our approach will see 30,000 new
Modern Apprenticeship opportunities every year
by 2020, having already exceeded our current target
of 25,000 per year. Our aim is to reduce youth
unemployment by 40 percent by 2021.
We believe that the more we can integrate skills and
employment policy, with an extension of powers for the
Scottish Parliament, the more we can achieve for people
joining the jobs market. That includes the prompt
devolution of the Work Programme and Work Choice.
We will also keep university education in Scotland free
and have increased the minimum income for our
poorest students to £7,500 this year.
We are also investing to support Scotland’s job creators.
Through initiatives like the Scottish Business
Development Bank we want to find ways of improving
access to finance for growing businesses and we will use
the influence we have at Westminster to secure
additional funds so we can further increase support for
Scottish companies.
We are determined to maintain Scotland's position as
the best place to do business in the UK with a package of
business rates relief worth an estimated £594 million for
2014-15 and £618 million for 2015-16 – supporting around
100,000 businesses across the country.
And we will continue to maximise investment in our
nation’s infrastructure, using both capital spending,
new borrowing powers and a range of innovative
finance mechanisms. In government, we have adopted
an ‘all-Scotland’ approach, with key infrastructure
projects across the country to ensure the fruits of
economic opportunity are shared as widely as possible.